Sphero is a remote-controlled cue ball that responds to prompts from smart phones.

Some of the stuff at the Assistive Technology Expo is just for fun, like the Sphero, a remote-controlled ball that obeys directions you give it using a Bluetooth app on your smartphone. It responds to very small finger movements, so it’s especially friendly to people who use wheelchairs but maintain some function in their hands.

Orbotix, the Colorado-based company that produces Sphero, is one of more than 60 vendors that will be at the expo. The expo’s audience includes people whose mobility is limited by age or disabilities, including people who use wheelchairs, the hearing- and speaking-impaired, and patients with Lou Gehrig’s Disease.
Tred Barta, the Eagle-based host of “The Best And Worst of Tred Barta” on NBC’s Sports station, will be there with his off-road wheelchair. Read more…

Electa Draper is the health writer for The Denver Post and has covered every news beat in a 22-year journalism career at three newspapers. She has a bachelor's degree in biology and a master's in journalism.